Managing Styles and Strategies
June 22, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Managing personnel is not always easy. Good management takes finesse, firmness, social skills, and some patience. Often, managers overlook key leadership strategies that, when implemented, can transform the company and make workers more productive.
Managers do not always have good written rules and policies, or they keep outdated policies around. Clear, concise policies, written in plain language and uniformly enforced, will set professional expectations. If an employee breaks the rules, the manager can show the policy, and the employee cannot make excuses such as “My boss just made up that rule.” A job description is a specific example of a very important policy to put in writing. Customized job descriptions that focus on the most essential job functions allow an employee to properly prioritize the demands made upon him or her, based on what the manager has wanted from the beginning.
Some people might wonder why one should bother with written policies nobody reads anyway. The truth of the matter is that policies do get read, especially when employees have problems or get reprimanded by their managers. New employees also benefit a great deal from reading the policies, as these rules set the tone for the new job.
Managers are not always clear when delegating assignments, and may sometimes wonder why they do not get back what they want. When managers take care to give their workers specific requirements, and help the busiest of them to prioritize the work schedule, they get what they need most, much more quickly and efficiently.
Sometimes when an employee’s work is less than satisfactory, managers do not give constructive criticism. Constructive criticism helps employees correct their work by describing clearly how the work needs improvement, while avoiding insults and general statements about low work quality.
Depending on the type of business, managers might want to consider allowing their employees to be creative and take initiative. Variety and creativity are major selling points for many job seekers. Managers can call for ideas or suggestions, while still making it clear that they have the final word.
Delegating tasks can be both liberating and frustrating. Entrepreneurs are hard workers with a do-it-yourself spirit, and sometimes have trouble letting other people do the work. Employees and contractors are great resources that allow a business to expand and be more productive. As new employees and contractors learn what is expected of them, managers should gradually trust them with more and more responsibility, looking over their shoulders less and less.
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Coaching Your Employees For Ultimate Success
June 21, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
In today’s marketplace, getting the most from your employees is becoming paramount. With many companies downsizing, managers must do more with less. This can be accomplished, but it has to be done as a team and not an individual. Coaching your employees to be successful is a never-ending job. Here are some simple tips to getting the most from your employees every day.
Interaction is vital to getting the most out of the core of employees you have. Do not think for one second that you are better or above any employee. One you do this the employee starts to turn on you and are less likely to be a team player. Instead of seeking confrontation listen to their idea, views, and why they did things a certain way. As a coach, you will be able to better grasp the angle they are coming from. Remember employees are human and will make mistakes and treat them as such. A smile and understanding go a long way in getting the most from employees.
Do not afraid to get yourself dirty and work side by side your employees. No matter what type of coach you want to be employees value someone who will stand beside them and not above them. If you want to get the most from your team of employees, show them you are willing to do the same things they are. You will be very surprised at how production will pick up in your core of employees.
Brainstorm with your employees as well. As a coach, your job is to listen to all ideas and suggestions. When employees feel they are part of the team, they are more willing to help and go that extra mile. It is much easier to work with an employee than butt heads. One of the keys is to make everyone a team player. Once you do this, coaching your employees will be second nature to you.
Coaching your employees for ultimate success is a never-ending process. Some will progress easier while others will find it a struggle. The bottom line is your on a team and each member is an important part of the chain you call teamwork.
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Keeping the Inbox Under Control
May 27, 2010 by admin · 1 Comment
In most workplaces, email is vastly overused, creating an ever increasing burden on users as well as the organization. A disorganized email inbox is unproductive and stressful but keeping it under control is doable if you follow these tips.
Your internet email account can filter out much of the spam you receive on a daily basis. Client software like Microsoft Outlook allow you to set up rules based on the content of the email, automatically moving it to a specific location or delete it.
The Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service provides detailed information on how to unsubscribe from annoying mailing lists.
Set up a separate browsing email address. Reserve your email address for personal correspondence. Keep separate personal and work email accounts.
Get in the habit of taking immediate action on new emails. Use your inbox as a “to do” list and nothing more. Some email clients allow you to mark individual emails by their level of importance but go one step further and set up folders based on the level of action necessary such as “urgent”, “under consideration” and “awaiting response”.
By taking immediate action on all incoming email, you are helping those who you correspond with avoid the same issues. Email that lives in your inbox for over a month is most often of low importance and should be routinely deleted.
Don’t keep the entire string of emails on one subject. If you have quoted subsequent emails, the current email will contain all of the previous content. You can file or delete the others.
When filing emails, use a minimum number of subfolders to minimize the time spent on organization. Using the search feature to locate specific emails is a huge timesaver.
Make every email count before you hit the send button. A 2 minute phone call can cover what would normally take 20 round trip emails.
This should be a no brainer but don’t send email to co-workers sitting across the cubicle from you. Enough said.
To summarize, delete emails that require no reply or have been responded to- and categorize the rest by level of importance.
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